If you are a dog groomer in the UK still taking bookings over WhatsApp, you already know the problem. You are mid-groom, both hands busy, and your phone is lighting up. By the time you get back to three different message threads that evening, one client has already booked with someone else.
Online booking software solves this. But picking one is harder than it should be, because most comparisons are written by platforms promoting themselves, or by review sites getting a referral cut for every signup.
This is not that. We run Serveasy, which is one of the tools on this list, so you know where we are coming from. But we have put together an honest look at what is available so you can make the right call for your business.
Before diving into specific tools, it is worth being clear on what a dog grooming business actually needs from booking software, because it is different from a hair salon or a gym.
You need clients to be able to book without calling you. You need reminders to go out automatically so no-shows become rare. You need to keep notes on each dog (breed, coat, temperament, any health issues) so you are not asking the same questions every visit. And ideally, you want something that does not take a week to set up or require a degree in technology to maintain.
Most importantly for a lot of groomers starting out: you do not want to pay a monthly fee before you are confident the software is actually working for your business.
Tuft is a UK-built booking platform made specifically for dog groomers. That focus shows. It handles breed-specific pricing, multi-groomer scheduling, and has a consumer app so clients can book from their phones. It also has its own marketplace, which means new clients can find you through Tuft directly.
The trade-off is cost. Tuft is not free. Pricing starts at around £20 per month, and the features that make it genuinely useful (advanced scheduling, the full marketplace listing) sit on higher tiers. If you are running a busy salon with multiple staff and want a tool that has been built from the ground up for grooming, Tuft is probably the most complete option on this list.
Where it falls short: the cost makes it a harder sell if you are just starting out or running solo. You are also tied into their payment processing.
Groomsy is a newer, cheaper alternative to Tuft, again built specifically for dog groomers. It charges a flat monthly fee (lower than Tuft at the time of writing) and positions itself on simplicity. Setup is quick. The core features cover what most groomers need: online booking, automated SMS and email reminders, client profiles, and basic reporting.
The marketing leans heavily on being cheaper than Tuft, which is honest but also means the feature set is thinner. If you need advanced multi-location management or a consumer-facing marketplace, Groomsy is not there yet.
Worth a look if you want something grooming-specific without paying Tuft prices.
Serveasy is not built exclusively for dog groomers, but it covers the core of what solo groomers and small grooming businesses need: a bookable online page, automated reminders, client and pet profiles, and a simple calendar view. Clients can book from your Instagram bio, your website, or a direct link.
The main difference from Tuft and Groomsy is the pricing model. Serveasy is free during early access, with no credit card required. That makes it a low-risk way to get online booking set up without committing to a monthly fee before you know if it works for you.
The honest trade-off: it is not as deep on grooming-specific features as Tuft. You will not get breed-based pricing or a built-in consumer marketplace. But for a groomer who wants to stop taking bookings over the phone and get a clean, professional booking page live quickly, it does the job.
Square is a broad platform, not a grooming-specific one, but it has a free tier for solo operators and integrates tightly with its own payment hardware. If you already use Square to take card payments in person, it is worth considering because everything lives in one place.
The free plan allows unlimited bookings for a single staff member and includes automated reminders. That is genuinely useful and costs nothing.
The drawbacks: the free tier is basic, and the moment you want anything more (multiple staff, more customisation, text reminders), you are on a paid plan. Square is also designed to work across hundreds of different business types, so it does not go deep on anything specific to grooming. There are no pet profiles, no breed notes, and no grooming-focused workflow.
Setmore has a free plan that covers the basics: a booking page, calendar management, and email reminders for up to four staff members. It is one of the more generous free tiers available, and setup is straightforward.
If your main goal is simply getting off WhatsApp and onto a booking page with as little friction as possible, Setmore will get you there. It is a general-purpose tool, so like Square it will not have anything grooming-specific. No pet notes, no breed-based pricing.
The free plan also does not include SMS reminders, only email, which matters because a lot of grooming clients respond better to a text the day before than an email they may not see.
| Tool | Free plan | Grooming-specific | Pet/dog profiles | SMS reminders | UK-built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuft | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Groomsy | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Serveasy | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Square | Yes (solo) | No | No | Paid plan | No |
| Setmore | Yes (4 staff) | No | No | Paid plan | No |
If you are running a busy multi-groomer salon and want the most complete grooming-specific platform, Tuft is probably your best option. The cost is justified if you are doing enough volume.
If you want something grooming-specific but cheaper, Groomsy is worth trying.
If you are a solo groomer or running a small setup and want to get online booking live quickly without paying anything upfront, Serveasy or Setmore will both work. Serveasy has pet profiles and SMS reminders on the free plan; Setmore does not. That is a meaningful difference for a grooming business.
If you already use Square for card payments, Square Appointments is a natural starting point.
The best advice is to sign up for two or three of the free options and actually use them for a week. Most groomers find they can make a clear decision once they have seen how the booking flow works for their clients.
The biggest mistake groomers make when evaluating booking software is overthinking it. Any of the tools above is better than taking bookings over the phone or through WhatsApp. The goal is to stop losing bookings to missed calls and start letting clients book themselves at 10pm when they remember their dog is due a groom.
Pick one, get it set up, and see what happens. You can always switch later.